A musical rarity was performed in a concert in a church in Kidlington at the weekend.

Violinist Oliver Jacobs

Conductor Christopher Fletcher-Campbell believes An Overture for a Comedy by Henry Balfour Gardiner has only been performed publically a few times.

Mr Gardiner, who died in 1950 in Salisbury, studied music at New College in Oxford. He was a supporter of composers Frederick Delius and Gustav Holst, who wrote The Planets.

The concert by Oxford Studio Orchestra in St Mary's Parish Church in Church Street on November 17 was devoted to English music. The concert also included works by Delius, Warlock and Vaughan Williams.

The orchestra, which is more than 25 years old, draws most of its musicians from the city, and gives three concerts a year.

The next concert will be a performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio on December 15 in Bloxham.